Angela I completely agree with you. I don't think $1,700 is alot, but you must have the inventory and a nich is always great. I did a local competition this weekend doing custom rhinestone tee shirts and bows. The fee was $35 and I sold out of all my bows and had to bring orders home to ship out. For such a small local competition it was great! I walked away with $1,750 after all my expenses.
So I would say, know who you are targeting, be specific, do your homework and know who is going to be there, number of teams......For me I base the amount of the vending fee on the number of teams that will be there. For example, if there will be 20 teams, I will consider up to $100, if it is 30 teams, $150. The most I have paid for one competition is $250 for about 50 teams (3 sessions).....but I do extremely well at the smaller competitions. I have not yet tried anything bigger, because it is a lot of work for me, but this year I am giving it a try and spending $1,500 on a space.....we'll see how it turns out! I am actually looking forward to it.

Everything you said is correct! Do your homework if you are wanting to spend that kind of money on a booth fee. It will pay off!
Good luck to you! Hope you make lots of $$$$!!